SFO charges failed — but Barclays did not get off lightly

It is hard to bring cases against companies, but compliance problems can still be time-consuming and damaging

Like tax protestors at Barclays' AGM, the pursuit of the bank by the UK's Serious Fraud Office has been dogged, if unconventional
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By

Aziz Rahman

December 5, 2018 Updated: December 6, 2018 10:16 a.m. GMT

With a High Court judge having denied the Serious Fraud Office’s application to charge Barclays over its controversial 2008 raising of capital in Qatar, the agency has lost a long-running battle.

Last May, Southwark Crown Court dismissed the charges against the bank, only for the SFO to state it would be looking to reverse this decision by applying to the High Court to reinstate them. That has now failed. And, unsurprisingly, the SFO is tight-lipped following this defeat.